Interior Painting

Interior house painting

Starting a new interior painting project in your home? Finding the right painters for the job can be a daunting task. Here at Southern Sunrise Paint Co. we have skilled painters that know the importance of doing a good job and leaving the workplace clean and done right the first time. We have painters with over 10 years experience that come from the local Austin area and work within our central Texas community.

There are a few things you want to keep in mind when starting an interior paint project.

Is your home empty? Just bought the house or selling it? Are your belongings in the home that you want painted? If so you want painters who know the importance of taking great care of peoples property and possessions while doing work inside your home. Having the right tarps and plastic/prepping materials for the job is an important element in interior painting!

Will you be home/living in the home during the hours of painting? If you live inside the home being painted and will be there during painting hours keep in mind that paint has an odor. Make sure you have all of your valuables and breakables put away and everything accessible for the painters to move around and cover as needed.

Will the house be rolled or painted with a paint sprayer? Painters paint interior homes two different ways, by rolling/cutting in and by spraying with a paint sprayer. If your home is empty the floors can be masked off with plastic and the walls and ceilings sprayed with a paint sprayer. When painters are rolling/cutting in they generally use tarps and plastic to cover the floors while they brush and roll.

Are you having the entry doors painted? The entry doors are: the front door, back doors, and garage entry doors. If you are not going to be home you need to have communication with your painters making sure they have entry into those areas and also the time to have them left open for drying. Doors need to be left open for a min 3 hours after painting before they can be shut.

Is your trim oil paint or latex? Your painters need to clarify if your trim paint is done in oil base paint or latex in order to know what type of product to use. If it is done in oil, painting a latex paint over it will cause problems like paint peeling off. If it is done in latex it can be painted over in latex or oil paint. The solution is to use oil on oil, or to use a hybrid latex enamel that can be painted over oil and latex.

What goes into the prep work on an interior paint job?

Painters use a variety of materials for prepping the inside of your home for painting. Sometimes the floors get completely covered with paper and plastic. Windows are sometimes covered with tape and plastic if the painters are spraying. Tape is used where needed to keep edges safe and to adhere paper to trim boards and other surface areas.

If rolling and brushing the home, tarps are used to move around the home to cover flooring and furniture. Plastic, paper, and tape can also be used for covering floors, walls, and furniture.

Materials used: Blue and white tape, different sizes of paper, plastics and tarps.

Usually the painters will remove the wall switches and outlet cover plates, covering the plugs and light switches with tape keeping them safe from getting paint on them. All of these things: covering floors, windows, furniture, removing plates and taping outlets, can go into the prepping of an interior home for a paint project. Prep usually takes 1 day to complete for an average size house (1400 sf)

The average paint job is completed in 4 - 6 days depending on the size and the detail of work being preformed. A house with a lot of trim and doors that is around (2500 sf) takes a full week or more, and sometimes longer for bigger projects. Be prepared to have the paint work going on in your home for up to 2 weeks.

In the end expect your painters to clean any trash or debris and wipe clean all surfaces that may have unwanted paint on them. Walk the job with them and let them know if you have any concerns with the quality. And there you have it, the in's and out's of an interior paint job. Also be sure to read our article on exterior paint jobs.